PTI’s quest for reserved seats may not be smooth sailing

There could be legal obstacles to the PTI getting its independent candidates’ share of reserved seats in the National Assembly by joining the Sunni Ittehad Council. However, legal experts say that not granting the PTI its reserved seats could lead to an incomplete parliament.

On Monday, the PTI announced it would be officially joining the Sunni Ittehad Council in the National Assembly as well as in provinces including Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

How would this arrangement work? Journalist Majid Nizami tells The News that, while the Sunni Ittehad Council has not won any seat in the National Assembly and even its chairman contested on a PTI-supported independent seat, it is a registered party and anyone can join in. According to Nizami, how this will work is that now the Sunni Ittehad Council will file an application in the ECP, saying it has these many MNAs and it needs its reserved seats’ list to be accommodated.

Nizami explains that the PTI getting its reserved seats won’t help it form the government but of course, will help it increase its strength in the National Assembly.It may not be smooth sailing for this partnership, though. Nizami feels that there will definitely be a legal fight regarding this and someone or the other will take the matter to court, even though he says this should not be such a cumbersome process for the PTI.